MSC ANTONIA

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Insurance company Gard called to increase preparedness and technical upgrade of ships regarding GPS jamming and spoofing

After analysing a series of incidents, involving the grounding of the 'MSC Antonia', the Norwegian marine insurance company Gard has called on shipping companies to increase preparedness and technical upgrade of ships regarding GPS jamming and spoofing, to which also the 'MSC Antonia' was exposed, causing it to running onto the Eliza Shoals west of Jeddah. The analysis documents GPS disruptions in 2025 in, among others, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Israeli coast, and map data from Gard shows that an increasing number of global conflict zones have been affected this year.The recent incidents in the world's conflict zones were highlighting the very real and immediate dangers posed by compromised global navigation satellite systems. Disruptions can lead to ships arriving outside their arrival window or losing access to berths, resulting in commercial losses and potential disputes.One ship during a total GPS disruption used ECDIS's estimated position function (EP, ed.), which estimates the ship's location based on previous movements. The ship ended up grounding on a coral reef at high speed, over 40 nautical miles from its actual position. In another case from 2025, a ship was prevented from sailing from a port in the Red Sea when its GPS signal showed a location deep in the Sahara Desert. The disruption lasted for over a week, causing significant delays and a contractual dispute between the ship’s owner and charterer. Another analysis by Windward in May found that the average distance that vessels “jump” to when their AIS is blocked has increased dramatically from 600 km in Q4 2024 to 6,300 km in Q1 2025. Gard therefore encouraged operators to install secondary satellite receivers and train crews in how to handle navigation anomalies. Gard recommended that ships have clear procedures for when a voyage should be completed or aborted in the event of GPS disruption, and that shipping companies invest in technical solutions such as anti-spoofing equipment and alternative navigation systems.

Container ship remains aground off Jeddah

Ten days after running aground, the 'MSC Antonia' remains aground near the Eliza Shoals west of Jeddah. Satellite images from Pole Star Global were showing the vessel resting on a reef. Despite being listed as grounded, the ship appears on various vessel tracking sites, not just on the opposite side of the Red Sea but often far inland, along with other ships due to increased GPS spoofing . VesselFinder has the ship on Airport Road, south of Port Sudan, myShipTracking has it a few km further inland, while MarineTraffic’s location of the stricken ship places it – and a host of other vessels – 250 kilometres from the nearest shoreline in the Nubian Desert, the eastern region of the Sahara Desert. The maritime security specialist Ambrey has observed growing GPS interference in conflict zones with a constant disruption of the signal over an area, increasing navigational risk to shipping. The AIS signals showed the ship in Jeedah until June 18, and next available AIS signal of the 'MSC Antonia' was on June 26 in the Arabian Sea, and on July 3 it arrived in Singapore, before proceeding further to Phu My, where it arrived on July 8. Report with photos: https://splash247.com/grounded-msc-ship-appears-in-the-sahara/

Container ship ran aground off Jeddah due to suspected GPS spoofing

The 'MSC Antonia', en route from Marsaxlokk to Jeddah, ran aground on the Eliza Shoals in pos. 19° 23' N 039° 56' E in the Red Sea approximately 100 nautical miles west of Jeddah on May 10, 2025. GPS spoofing has been suspected to be the cause of the deviation. The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) had posted a warning on May 9 regarding incidents of multiple vessels experiencing electronic interference and disruptions while sailing in the Red Sea around the areas of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and Port Sudan. They warned it was affecting navigation systems and requiring vessels to rely on backup methods. Accordingly, the track of the 'MSC Antonia' on AIS appeared to be highly erratic, likely due to the GPS interference. Sudan. The container ship remained stuck as of May 14 with a list to port side. Tugs were called to refloat it. Marine claims specialists warned of a likely general average and the salvage operations creating additional financial implications for cargo owners. Reports with photos and video: https://www.marinepublic.com/blogs/distress/952883-maritime-gps-spoofing-msc-antonia-grounding-cyber-threats https://www.marineinsight.com/shipping-news/msc-container-ship-stranded-in-red-sea-after-suspected-gps-spoofing/ https://www.transport-online.nl/84635/containerschip-msc-antonia-vastgelopen-in-rode-zee-mogelijk-door-gps-jamming-video https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tiyBW08y3-E?embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fassafinaonline.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE/ https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJoVgAgScAh/